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Disney Dark Age
The Disney Dark Age (also known as Disney's Bronze Age and The Early Renaissance by the They Drew As They Pleased artbook series) refers to an era in the Disney Animated Canon where there were not as many critically or financially successful animated films, unlike most of the films that Walt Disney himself produced and directed while he was still alive. While most films were succesful (though none were hitting the standards of the previous films directed by Disney), they would take longer and longer to make due to new, unexperienced animators being employed. That said, most of these films were financially successful at the box office and a few films were even nominated for several film awards, winning a few of them. One film in particular, The Rescuers, set box office records upon release and eventually spawned a theatrical sequel in 1990. The only true failure from this time period was The Black Cauldron, which was both a critical and financial disaster. The name Dark Age has been disputed by some critics, who find the movies to actually be some of Disney's best. For this reason, the more neutral name of Bronze Age is sometimes more preferred. It is predicted that the era started after the death of Walt Disney in December of 1966, beginning with The Aristocats in 1970 and ending in 1989 with The Little Mermaid, which is also said to be the start of another era known as the Disney Renaissance, or "Disney's Second Golden Age". On a similar note, The Great Mouse Detective is sometimes considered to be a part of the Disney Renaissance. Following the failure of The Black Cauldron in 1985, Disney Animation Studios underwent major policy changes that saw animated films being released at least every single year, as opposed to one film every 2-4 years. This business tactic is still in effect to this day. The animated features released during this period include The Aristocats (1970), Robin Hood (1973), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977), The Rescuers (1977), The Fox and the Hound (1981), The Black Cauldron (1985), The Great Mouse Detective (1986) and Oliver & Company (1988). History With the deaths of Walt and Roy O. Disney, Walt Disney Productions was left in the hands of Donn Tatum, Card Walker and Ron W. Miller. At this time, Disney's Nine Old Men, aging animators of the company, began training new animators in prospect of retiring. In the 1980s, Don Bluth and eleven animators, who were friends of Don, left Disney to establish their own company, , which proved to be a great rival towards Disney in the 1980s, with their own feature films such as The Secret of NIMH (a film that Don originally pitched to Disney, but was scrapped due to its overly mature and dark tone; thus being one of the reasons why Bluth and his friends left the studio to begin with), An American Tail, The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven. Along with The Jungle Book, The Aristocats was one of the last animated films Walt Disney had approved, although he did not live to see either one completed. Taking four years to finish, The Aristocats was released to theaters on December 24, 1970. Despite favorable reviews and solid box office performance, the film did not match the successes of past Disney films such as One Hundred and One Dalmatians. Because of this, the film is seen as a modest success in the Disney Animated Canon, although the film is still considered to be very iconic. Beginning production before Walt's death, Robin Hood began as an adaptation of Reynard the Fox. This idea was scrapped after Disney deemed Reynard a non-suitable hero. After Walt's death, the film was updated to be an adaptation of the Robin Hood stories. The film was released on November 8, 1973 to mixed reviews. While it was a commercial success and was popular with audiences, including a sizable fanbase, the film was criticized for its heavy use of recycled animation from films such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, The Jungle Book and The Aristocats. The recycled animation was justified due to the fact that the company was undergoing a financial slump after Phase One construction of Walt Disney World went over-budget. Despite its mixed critical reception, the film did receive a nomination for an Oscar award at the time. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was a compilation film comprised of three segments (Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree, Winnie the Pooh and the Blustery Day and Winnie the Pooh and Tigger Too!), all of which had been released to theaters in years prior to the film's release. This was due to Walt Disney's intentions of making a full-length Winnie the Pooh feature film, instead settling on short features. Though not a financial success, the film was praised by critics for being a faithful adaption to the books. It currently holds a rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the highest critically-acclaimed movies of the era. , Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas. It was also the studio's biggest hit, with both the box office and movie critics, since The Jungle Book and until The Great Mouse Detective.]] Taking four years to complete, The Rescuers was a great critical and commercial success, even breaking the record for largest financial amount made for an animated film on opening weekend, a record it held until 1986 by Don Bluth's An American Tail. The film was Disney's most successful film at the time, regaining people's faith towards the studio's future. The film was a critical success, making it one of the most popular films of the Dark Age which allowed the film to spawn a sequel, The Rescuers Down Under in 1990. It was also Disney's biggest critical and commercial success until the release of The Great Mouse Detective in 1986. Although beginning production in 1977, The Fox and the Hound wasn't released until July 10, 1981, due to a delay in production after 17% of Disney's animators left the studio. The film was a financial success, but was met with mixed reviews from fans of the original story and critics, who were disappointed with the story changes. However, the film has managed to earn its own fanbase as time would move on from its original release. Released on July 26, 1985, The Black Cauldron was both a critical and commercial failure, and considered by many to be the lowest point in Disney history. To add insult to injury, it lost to The Care Bears Movie. Despite this, Lloyd Alexander, the author of the books in which the film was based on, recognized no similarity between the books and film, but has still stated that he actually enjoyed the film. Released on July 2, 1986, The Great Mouse Detective was met with critical and financial success. Disney gained their confidence back due to the success of this film, allowing them to pursue their concepts for future projects like Aladdin and The Little Mermaid (ironically, producers John Musker and Ron Clements had worked on all of these three films). It should be noted that this film's modest success literally saved the animation studio from going bankrupt, which is why this movie is sometimes considered to be the unofficial start of the Disney Renaissance. Despite not making as much cash as its rival film, Don Bluth's , it still garnered more favorable reviews from movie critics, most notably Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. Often regarded as the final film of the Dark Age, Oliver & Company was a commercial success, but was met with mixed reviews from various movie critics. Despite that, the film was able to earn a Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. This movie also brought back the musical format to Disney's animated films, which formed the bedrock of the films released in the Disney Renaissance. Oliver & Company is the highest grossing film from Disney's Dark Age. Critical reception Box Office grosses See also *Disney Golden Age *Disney Renaissance *Disney Post-Renaissance *Disney Revival Category:The Aristocats Category:Robin Hood Category:The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh Category:The Rescuers Category:The Fox and the Hound Category:The Black Cauldron Category:The Great Mouse Detective Category:Oliver & Company Category:Disney Dark Age Category:Walt Disney Animation Studios Category:History Category:Eras